Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Terrell Owens. Randy Moss. Two of the greatest wide
receivers to ever step foot on the gridiron.
Over 15 seasons, T.O. compiled 1,078 receptions for 15, 934 yards and 153
touchdowns. Randy Moss managed 982 receptions for 15,292 yards and 156
touchdowns over 14 seasons, and even added two passing touchdowns and a
kick-return touchdown. Both have amassed team and league records. Along
the way there were spectacular catches and clutch catches and hilarious
celebrations. And yet these two incredible athletes are known as much for their
sideline/off-the-field antics as they are for their fantastic achievements on
it.

Watch any Dallas Cowboys game this season and you will see
another incredibly talented wide receiver who seems to be cut from the same
cloth as Owens and Moss. That receiver is Dez Bryant. Watch the Cowboys play
and the chances are you will see Dez Bryant rack up somewhere around 100 yards
receiving and probably a touchdown or two (he has 61 receptions for 851 yards
and eight touchdowns through 11 games this season). You will see him make a
spectacular catch, or a clutch catch, or a spectacular clutch catch, and you
will most likely marvel at his ability and wish he was on your team.

But you will also see him look around with arms spread and palms
up after every pass his way that goes incomplete. You may hear references to a
checkered past, the details of which I won’t repeat here. And you may see a
sideline implosion, with Dez ranting and raving and seemingly screaming at his
teammates (NFL Films audio released the day after an incident this year seemed to
indicate that the rant had a much more positive message than the video
conveyed). Regardless of the message, the video can’t help but bring back
memories of T.O. pacing the sidelines screaming at everyone in sight or of
Randy Moss walking off the field in frustration before the final seconds had ticked
off the clock.

Petulant. Selfish. Arrogant. These are adjectives that you
will hear people sometimes throw around in the case of star athletes, and
especially in the case of star wide receivers. But using these words and
picking out a specific incident to justify their use is insufficient. As we
have seen in the case of Dez’s sideline rant earlier this season, the video
doesn’t always tell the whole story, and we don’t always have the full context
of what is really going on.

Are there times where these types of players act petulantly,
or selfishly, or arrogantly? More than likely, yes. But it is these same
qualities that help make them great, that take them to that next level, that make
them stand out.

To get to where these men get, you have to be somewhat
arrogant. You have to be incredibly confident. You have to have a ton of
passion. And when we see this combination spill out in a fit of frustration, it
looks petulant and selfish and arrogant. When we see T.O. or Dez screaming on
the sidelines or hear Keyshawn Johnson scream, “Give me the damn ball,” it’s not
coming from a place of selfishness, of me, me, me, of I want to pad my stats.
It’s coming from a place of wanting to win, wanting to be a part of helping the
team win, and truly believing that getting them the ball is the best way to
make that happen.

A parallel from another sport is my favorite athlete of all
time, Allen Iverson. Yes, Allen Iverson took a lot of shots. But Allen Iverson
took a lot of shots because he honestly believed that him taking a lot of shots
gave his team the best chance to win, and most of the time he was absolutely
right. Allen Iverson was far from perfect. He will be the first one to admit
that, and sometimes the incredible pride and confidence he had that allowed him
to become the greatest little man to ever play the game, or the “best pound for
pound player of all time” as Lebron James would put it, sometimes manifested
itself in negative ways, such as a less than ideal approach to practice or a
neglect to take care of his body the way he should. But I wish that every
athlete that ever stepped on a field or a court would compete with the intensity
on a night-to-night basis that Iverson did, and I wouldn’t trade the privilege of
watching him play for my favorite team for 10 years for anything.

I also had the opportunity to watch T.O. play for my
favorite team for a short while, and for all the drama and the headaches, it
was worth it. Because I knew every Sunday he would be out on the field doing
his best to help win the game, and in doing so making incredible plays and
providing countless memories.

Although this personality paradox can manifest itself in any
athlete in any sport, it is particularly prevalent amongst wide receivers.
DeSean Jackson, though not on the level of the other guys mentioned here, is an
incredibly talented, play-making wide receiver who has been known to make a
scene or have his attitude questioned by some. Even the seemingly mild-mannered
Andre Johnson recently had a sideline spat with his quarterback and an early
exit from the field, though it got much less scrutiny in the media than Randy
Moss’ did. So even the most well-behaved of star wide receivers can occasionally
fall victim to it. The very personality traits that allow them to excel and
reach the heights of their profession and provide those spectacular moments and
memories for the fans are the same traits that can lead to some sideline or off-the-field drama. You have to take the good with the bad, because without the
bad the good wouldn't be there to enjoy.

The most anticipated NFL game of this weekend is the Sunday night match-up between the undefeated Kansas Chiefs and the high-powered (albeit hobbled) Denver Broncos. So with that in mind, here is a statistically inaccurate rap by Kansas City Chiefs fans, including of course a name drop of our old pal Andy Reid.

Tonight, the Sixers host the Cleveland Cavaliers, and while Andrew Bynum's return to the place he never actually played will get plenty of attention, it is Kyrie Irving everyone will really be watching. That's because Kyrie Irving is really, really good.